First week of 2018 was Baltimore's coldest start to any year on record

The frigid first week of January was actually Baltimore’s coldest start to any year in at least 146 years, according to the National Weather Service.

The average temperature at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the region’s point of record, was just 15.2 degrees from Jan. 1 through 7.

That was more than 3 degrees colder than the previous record, 18.4 degrees in the first seven days of 1918.

It was part of one of Baltimore’s longest streaks of sub-freezing temperatures in decades. Temperatures did not rise above freezing at BWI for eight straight days, until the airport reached 35 degrees Jan. 8.

This week has brought a slow rebound in temperatures, which are expected to hit the upper 40s Thursday and the lower 60s Friday. But more cold is forecast by Sunday, with highs expected to drop back into the 30s and 20s next week.